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Post by Baltimore Jack on Jun 17, 2005 0:52:36 GMT -5
I recently recieved a note from Brad Anderson after we had posted some of his Dad's (the late legendary Gene Anderson) photographs and journal entires on the Gateway. For me, there is no more rewarding reason for doing the website than to receive a letter like this. I like to believe we can preserve Mid-Atlantic wrestling for generations to come. Being a part of this with Brad is a blessing. With his permission, I posted his note here: www.andersonbrothersclassic.com |
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Post by bluedevil71 on Jun 17, 2005 10:58:11 GMT -5
Dick, thanks for sharing the note and thanks to Brad. As a devoted family man, that means a lot to read something like that. Brad's kids missed out on meeting a good man, but his legacy will live forever, and they should be proud of that and enjoy the experience of sharing with us that.
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Post by rlb147 on Jun 19, 2005 8:37:41 GMT -5
That letter says alot in many ways,& IT IS GOOD TO KNOW that everybody can let GENE"S
grandsons& Brad know how much GENE was loved & respected by us all.( my hat is off to Baltimore JACK and the rest of the gang at macw .com)
With the upmost respect thanks rlb147
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Post by thegreatbologuy on Jun 19, 2005 9:01:27 GMT -5
It was, indeed, a pleasure meeting and spending a little time with Brad last night in the "bowels" of the Grace Park Rec Center in Statesville.
Brad...class act all the way.
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Post by noodlepoodle on Jun 19, 2005 12:48:30 GMT -5
GreatBoloGuy, where exactly is the "bowels of the Grace Park Rec Center"? I think I might be glad I wasn't there last night!
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Post by bobbyryates on Jun 19, 2005 14:13:27 GMT -5
that is a great letter.
i also had a great chat with brad last night in statesville. i let him know how much the minnesota wrecking crew meant to me.
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Post by wreckingcrew on Jun 21, 2005 7:22:16 GMT -5
I appreciate evreyone's postings I truly did not know the impact my Dad, Ole, and the whole Mid-Atlantic old school had. I truly don't know what I've had till it is gone. I found dozens of new pictures in the attic on 6/21 of new Wrecking crew photos and sevreal other live shots of other workers-too many to list. I also found the maroon anderson brothers ring jackets. dick will get these on Friday in Mooresville NC and I'm sure they will be posted soon. - Brad
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Post by RMF1973 on Jun 21, 2005 9:19:42 GMT -5
First, let me welcome you to the board Brad! It meant so much meeting you Saturday night. You are such a respectful man especially towards the business. Your Dad and Ole had such a tremendous impact on the business and I think it is great to see you carry that tradition on. Thank you and good luck always!
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Post by kyle on Jun 21, 2005 12:49:09 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Brad. Living in Virginia, makes it a little harder for me to get to the shows that you've been at but I might make it eventually. As you can see the whole Mid Atlantic promotion was pretty special to everyone here. But you father and Ole are generally regarded as the best tag team ever. As a kid growing up no matter what my parents or anyone else said, I knew the Anderson Brothers were for real. As a small boy I rooted for the fan favorites to beat the Andersons, but I didn't ever think anyone would. Unfortunately there aren't many tapes of them wrestling and without the whole angle being shown, today's fans just don't get how good they were. But having grow up watching them on TV, I'll always remember just how great The Minnesota Wrecking Crew was.
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Post by natureboy14 on Jun 21, 2005 16:50:57 GMT -5
i also want to welcome brad anderson to our mid-atlantic family, have had the pleasure to see brad a few occassions and he is very talented, absolutely brings back great memories of the anderson slam
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Post by bobbyryates on Jun 21, 2005 17:11:42 GMT -5
the whole time i was growing up, the generations before me always had their heroes. they had audie murphy, john wayne...people like that, that was a part of their hearts. a part of their thought process, their partiotism, their make up....
gene and ole anderson are my 'john wayne'. two heroes of my childhood and teen years. and i feel so good to know that i actually have had that chance to meet them many times over the years. neither of them knew who i was. but to me, it was like meeting the president. moments you will never forget and makes you feel like a million bucks. to meet that hero the means so much to you.
i have seen, met, and liked a bunch of wrestlers and other celebrities. but none are more a part of me, than the minnesota wrecking crew. an no one has come close.
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Post by ncringfan on Jun 21, 2005 20:19:58 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Brad. There is no way most of us could ever truely express how much your Dad meant to us. He and Ole were the greatest team ever, no one else even close. And Gene was a great manager as well. I miss them so much, I miss Mid atlantic so much. You are not alone when you say you don't know what you got until it is gone. I never knew how much I loved the Andersons, Rufus, Wahoo, Valentine and I'd give anything to see them all again.
I have a question Brad, are you planning to wrestle regularly again?
Also thanks for sharing your Dads stuff with the Gateway. it has a great home there, and can't wait to see the new stuff you found.
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Post by spacemountain on Jun 22, 2005 8:01:59 GMT -5
Brad,
It is an honor to have you post on this board. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future. My father is deceased also and he really enjoyed seeing him on television. He would call him "Twitch" because your father would jerk his neck during interviews when of course Ole would do all of the talking.
Was that neck twitching part of the personna? Or was that a legitimate condition he had? Your father and Bobby Eaton are probably the two greatest tag team wrestlers that came to Mid-Atlantic and yet did not speak a whole lot in interviews.
I am posing the question to anyone out there that can answer it for me.
Thanks!
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Post by Baltimore Jack on Jun 22, 2005 9:54:47 GMT -5
The fact that Gene didn’t talk made him more of a threatening, almost mysterious character to me when I was first watching wrestling.
It also added to the personality and uniqueness of the team. Ole doing all the braggadocios talking, Gene backing it up. The Anderson boots. The famous Anderson slam. Bob Caudle and David Crockett talking on and on about that slam, really putting it over. No other team did any move quite like that slam. “Pick one part of the body, and stay on it”, Bob and David would say.
And then there was the “Ultimate Sacrifice” match with Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones. I guess that was supposed to make the Andersons seem more like the bad guys, but to me it made them heroes. As a kid, I was horrified that Ole would sacrifice his own brother to win the titles. But at the same time, I was almost inspired that Gene seemingly went along with it, leaning over the ropes at ringside, head extended. I remember my friends Mark and Ricky and I having this deep philosophical discussion about who actually made the bigger sacrifice? Ole sacrificing his brother? Or Gene sacrificing himself? Either way, we were blown away that they would do that to get their titles back. We loved Wahoo and Paul, but we were impressed that the Andersons wanted it that much more.
The following week when the Andersons came out with the belts they had won back in that match, Gene as always never said a word. He just stood with Ole holding his belt. No angle to tease a break up of the team like what would be required today. The point was this guy had made a sacrifice so that he and his brother could get their belts back. Without saying a word, that was one powerful statement.
Gene Anderson always said more by saying less. And I believed!
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Post by RMF1973 on Jun 22, 2005 11:03:32 GMT -5
Great post Baltimore Jack! Couldn't have been stated any better. They really weren't Heels or Faces to many fans rather they were Heroes! I think Flair's famous phrase, "Whether you like it or don't like it...Look at it cause it's the best thing going today!" really fits Ole and Gene. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew were the best going at that time and without a doubt are one of the best tag teams of all time.
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